Wednesday, 10 April 2013

Letter to the Editor in relation to comments made by Wicklow Fianna Fail PRO Stephen Kearon following the death of Margaret Thatcher

A chara,

I feel compelled to write this letter out of total disgust
at a number of Tweets that came from Wicklow Fianna Fáil PRO and former
Government Advisor to the rejected former Minister Dick Roche, Stephen Kearon
following the death of Margaret Thatcher. On Monday last following the death of
former British Conservative Prime Minister Maggie Thatcher the Fianna Fáil
mouth piece posted a number of disgraceful tweets saying “Thatcher deserves our
gratitude for ensuring Provo thugs & criminals who didn’t like prison food
deservedly died painfully” he followed this with another message saying “Sands
is now burning in the eternal fires of hell, just what his kind deserves”

These messages are obvious references to the 10 Hunger strikers who died in the
H-Blocks in 1981 at the hands of Thatcher. I think these messages coming from
the PRO of Wicklow Fianna Fáil and former Government Advisor give us a good
insight into the thinking of the so called ‘Republican Party’ that is Fianna
Fáil.

We should be mindful of the legacy that Margaret Thatcher
leaves behind and the hurt and pain that Thatcher inflicted on the Irish and
British people during her time as British Prime Minister. Her role in
international affairs was equally belligerent whether in support of the Chilean
dictator Pinochet, her opposition to sanctions against apartheid South Africa;
and her support for the Khmer Rouge. She also brought huge amounts of pain on
ordinary working people in Britain through her Poll Tax and her prolonged
attempts to destroy both the Unions and the Coal Mining industry in Britain.

Here in Ireland her espousal of old draconian militaristic
policies prolonged the war on our island and caused great suffering. She
embraced censorship, collusion and the killing of citizens by covert
operations, including the targeting of solicitors like Pat Finucane, alongside
more open military operations and refused to recognise the rights of citizens
to vote for parties of their choice. Her attempts to criminalise the struggle
for Irish freedom will be what she will be most despised for here in Ireland.
This British policy was fought in the prisons in the 6 Counties by republican
prisoners who engaged in the Blanket protest and the Dirty Protest.
Unfortunately these protests culminated in the Hunger strikes of 1980/81 which
seen 10 Irishmen die painful deaths at the hands of Thatcher and her
Government.

Margaret Thatcher died on 8th April the day before the 32nd
anniversary of the election Of Bobby Sands as an MP for Fermanagh, South
Tyrone, he received 30,492 votes in contrast to the 57 votes that Wicklow
Fianna Fáil mouth piece Stephen Kearon received when he went before the people
of Wicklow in the Local elections of 1999.

It is no wonder consecutive Irish Governments abandoned the
people of the 6 Counties when you have anti-Irish, Thatcherite apologists such
as Stephen Kearon giving advise to them. I think the irony of the fact that
Kearon is a member of the Erskine Childers Fianna Fáil Cuman goes right over
Kearon’s head. Was Childers a ‘Criminal’ or a ‘thug’ for his involvement in the
fight for Irish Freedom or for his involvement in weapons smuggling on the
Asgard. Surly if you follow the twisted logic of Kearon, Thomas Ashe and
Terence McSweeney who both died on hunger strike where also ‘criminals’ or
‘thugs’ is he also glad that they died painfully at the hands of the British.

Thankfully due to the peace process Ireland is a changed
place and the vast majority of Irish people are working hard to build a better
Ireland. Unfortunately there are still some bitter twisted people living in the
past. I am calling on Fianna Fáil grassroots members to disassociate themselves
from the comments made by Stephen Kearon. I believe the insight given by Kearon
takes us deeper into the thoughts of Fianna Fáil at the highest levels. Fianna
Fáil failed the hunger strikers much the same way as they have failed the
people of the 6 Counties since the partition of our Country. They need to stop
flying the ‘Republican’ flag of convenience, because for as long as they have
Thatcherite, Anti-Irish, Right Wing Conservatives in their ranks such as
Stephen Kearon they will be little more than west Brit lackies implementing the
same failed policies of Maggie Thatcher.